On Thursday, December the 8th, the 90 selected seniors of Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design traveled the intricate subway systems of Brooklyn and Manhattan to experience and art installation at the Park Avenue Armory.  Manifesto was the culminating trip for the senior cohort that was led up to by four, in-class visitations of two of the Armory’s Resident Teaching Artists, Vicki Tanner and Neil Pritchard. Upon arriving to the Armory, the students were separated into five groups. In these groups, they discussed the manifestos that they created in class and they were prepped to view the installment that consisted of twelve 20x20 projections of Kate Blanchett portraying twelve different Manifestos written by … [Read more...]

On Wednesday, May 18 seniors Xavier Flowers, Anah Lewi, Nathifa Debellotte, Donavon Bembridge, Ronny Tineo, and Oumardat Basdewa presented their final Y-PLAN project results at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Over the course of the school year these students, along with their 7th period economics class, worked with Councilman Levin’s office and the Participatory Budgeting (PB) Committee. One of the five projects that the class worked on was voted by the community as a winning project. The project to make Msgr. McGolrick Park Safer will receive approximately $500,000 to fix the sidewalks and fences surrounding the park. Y-PLAN and PB allowed our students to help make the community a safe place. … [Read more...]

On Wednesday, May 18 seniors Xavier Flowers, Anah Lewi, Nathifa Debellotte, Donavon Bembridge, Ronny Tineo, and Oumardat Basdewa presented their final Y-PLAN project results at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Over the course of the school year these students, along with their 7th period economics class, worked with Councilman Levin’s office and the Participatory Budgeting (PB) Committee to improve the community. One of the five projects that the class worked on was voted by the community as a winning project. The project to make Msgr. McGolrick Park Safer will receive approximately $500,000 to fix the sidewalks and fences surrounding the park. Y-PLAN and PB allowed our students to help make the community a safe … [Read more...]

Adaptive reuse has been a way preservationists have been able to maintain historic sites throughout New York City while giving them an exciting new purpose. One case study WHSAD students have looked at over the course of the last few weeks is the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport.   Designed by world-famous architect Eero Saarinen, The TWA Flight Center opened in 1962 as the original terminal for Trans World Airlines at Idlewild Airport (now JFK). It is a prime example of the forward-thinking modern architecture that was in vogue in the 1960s.     Both the interior and the exterior of the Flight Center were declared a New York City Landmark in 1994. In 2005, the terminal was listed on the National … [Read more...]

On Friday, April 8, 2016 Council Member Antonio Reynoso (34th District- Bushwick, Williamsburg, and Ridgewood) visited WHSAD to kick off our electED officials speaker series. The purpose of the speaker series is to allow elected officials and civic leaders to meet our students and discuss ways the  students can play a role in the community. Council Member Reynoso spoke about his role in the city council and the issues facing the constituents of his district. He also brought with him Williamsburg Organizer, Alexis Rodriguez and Lauren George,  Director of Intergovernmental and Community Affairs at NYC Landmarks and Preservation Commission. The discussion focused on the zoning changes that have taken place in recent … [Read more...]

  On Sunday, March 13 a group of our dedicated Y-PLAN students joined the Participatory Budgeting Committees in putting together their presentation board for the PB Project Expo on March 29th & 30th. The students provided the teams with renderings for five projects. They also helped create the presentations for the other projects that are up for voting. The students are excited to have a hand in helping to change the communities that they live and go to school in. See below to learn more about WHSAD's Y-Plan project. [gview file="https://www.whsad.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/YPLAN-Projects.doc"] … [Read more...]

On Wednesday, March 2nd Xavier Flowers, Anah Lewi, Luis Barrera, David Lozado, and Ronny Tineo attended and presented at Brooklyn Borough Hall for the Y-PLAN conference. These students, along with their 7th period economics class, have been working with Councilman Levin’s office and the Participatory Budget Committee on five different projects that will benefit the community. They are creating renderings of the proposed changes to each area. The students had opportunity to discuss their project plans with Chancellor Carmen Farina.  The goal of Participatory Budget is to give members of the community a say in how and what money is spent on in their neighborhoods. By working with the PB committee and the y-plan project, our students have been … [Read more...]

With the support of the Walentas Family Foundation, WHSAD is now home to Pellettieri Stone Carvers' Academy. Each Monday students meet to learn the foundations of stone carving. Their final projects will be reliefs that will be placed in a community garden La Casita Verde. The course is conducted by stone carver Chris Pellettieri and WHSAD teacher Pia Moos. … [Read more...]

  Heritage Equity Partners is launching a joint initiative with The Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design to implement a Work Based Learning Speaker Series. On January 6, 2016 the inaugural lecture was led by Stefani Marazzi and Benjamin Stark of Slater & Beckerman, a New York City law firm with expertise in zoning, land use, construction permitting and municipal law. The lecture was held in Mr. Codio’s 12th grade Advanced Computer Aided Drafting and Design class. Because students are working on renderings of possible buildings, the topic of the lecture focused on zoning laws and regulations. The lecture series will continue between the months of February and May. To see the whole presentation, please view … [Read more...]